He Promised Me Work In Lagos, Na Trap I Enter (EPISODE 30)

EPISODE 30 – The Exposure

Lagos never sleeps, but that night felt heavier than usual. The city’s chaotic heartbeat — honking cars, shouting vendors, motorbikes weaving dangerously — mirrored the turmoil inside me. For weeks, I had been collecting pieces of evidence: recordings of his threats, the subtle ways he controlled me, his soft-spoken manipulations. Each time he leaned close, I felt a pang of fear, but I pressed record anyway, hiding my phone beneath my clothes, pretending to be absorbed in other things.

Every beep, every message I sent to my small network of trusted allies felt like walking on a knife’s edge. If he discovered what I was doing… Lagos, big and merciless as it is, would suddenly feel like a cage without walls.

That evening, I met the church woman who had been my quiet anchor in the storm. Her eyes widened as she listened to my files and notes.

“Nkiru… na serious thing you don do. This one fit save you if e reach that kind wahala,” she said, her voice trembling slightly, more from worry than anger.

I felt both empowered and terrified. The pieces of my life that had been quietly suffocating me — fear, dependence, control — were now documented, concrete, undeniable. And yet, the risk lingered like smoke in my lungs.

The next morning, I expected him to appear as he always did — to make subtle comments, demand attention, or remind me that I belonged to him. But he was gone. No calls, no messages, no sign of the familiar shadow that had loomed over every corner of my Lagos life.

“Where e don go?” I whispered to myself, pacing the small room. A strange relief washed over me, but it was fragile. Every sound outside — a car horn, a shout from the street, the clattering of a motorbike — made my heart leap. Lagos was still dangerous; I knew better than to celebrate too soon.

Even as relief settled in, my mind raced. Could this absence be a trap? Was he planning something bigger? The city, which had always felt overwhelming, now seemed like a chessboard, each stranger a possible threat.

But within the fear, a seed of determination grew. For the first time, I felt a flicker of true agency. I had documented my life, my struggle, my survival. And for now, he was out of reach.

That night, as I lay in bed listening to the distant sirens and shouting, I promised myself: “If Lagos wants to chew me up, I go chew am back. I no go let anyone control my life again.”

Episode 31 Coming Soon
With him gone temporarily, Nkiru begins to take bolder steps toward independence. But the city of Lagos is full of unseen dangers, and freedom will demand courage, cunning, and resilience.